Basil Rathbone
Biography
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, however, was heroic—that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he received a Tony Award in 1948 as Best Actor in a Play.
Known For
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Sherlock Holmes
The Spider Woman
Self (archival footage)
The Movie Orgy
Sir Guy of Gisbourne
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Sherlock Holmes
Terror by Night
Sherlock Holmes
Dressed to Kill
Andre Trochard
We're No Angels
Sir Ravenhurst
The Court Jester
Captain Esteban Pasquale
The Mark of Zorro
Sig von Aschenhausen
Above Suspicion
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
Sherlock Holmes
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Canuto Pérez
Autopsia de un fantasma
Lodac
The Magic Sword
Sherlock Holmes
The House of Fear
Sherlock Holmes
The Pearl of Death
Sherlock Holmes
The Scarlet Claw
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
The Great Mouse Detective
Paul Reynard
Rio
Dr. Farraday
Queen of Blood
Sherlock Holmes
The Woman in Green
(archive footage)
The Horror Show
Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Richard - Duke of Gloucester
Tower of London
Sir Joel Cadman
The Black Sleep
Montague Hartley
The Black Cat
Gerald Lovell
Love from a Stranger
Sherlock Holmes
Crazy House
Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann
The Mad Doctor
Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
Tales of Terror
Professor Aristide
Heartbeat
John F. Black
The Comedy of Terrors
Henri Sarrou
Crossroads
Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko
Tovarich
George Adams
Bathing Beauty
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
Philo Vance
The Bishop Murder Case
Tybalt
Romeo and Juliet
Mr. Edward Murdstone
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger
Levasseur
Captain Blood
Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle
Fingers at the Window
Maj. Brand
The Dawn Patrol
Marquis St. Evremonde
A Tale of Two Cities
Antoine
The Masked Bride
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Undetermined Subordinate Role
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots
Tony Winterslip
Trouping with Ellen
Derek Nagel
One Precious Year
Dr. Boekman
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates
Sherlock Holmes
Pursuit to Algiers
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin
Anna Karenina
Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Norman Cass Sr.
The Last Hurrah
Chief Inquisitor
The Lark
Michael Michailow
Confession
Lucio / Narrator
Casanova's Big Night
Reginald Ripper
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
Andre Benoit
Paris Calling
Gregor
Hillbillys in a Haunted House
Narrator (voice)
The Wind in the Willows
Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Louis XI
If I Were King
Oliver Courtney
Rhythm on the River
Count Ferdinand Anteoni
The Garden of Allah
Lord Rockingham
Frenchman's Creek
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Ahmed
The Adventures of Marco Polo
Reginald 'Reggie' Durant
Sin Takes a Holiday
Paul Gherardi
A Notorious Affair
Pontius Pilate
The Last Days of Pompeii
Caiaphas
Ponzio Pilato
Henry Abbott
Kind Lady
Clive Randolph
The Sun Never Sets
Johnny Selden
Make a Wish
Ferdinand de Levis
Loyalties
Edward
The Lady of Scandal
Col. Smith
The Flirting Widow
Lord Arthur Dilling
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Captain Randolph Courtney
A Feather in Her Hat
Thomas Wroxton
Private Number
Carl Vandry
A Lady Surrenders
Carmichael (archive footage)
The Horror of It All
Paul Parisot
This Mad World
General Lee
The General's Boots
Marley's Ghost
A Christmas Carol
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)
Victoria Regina
Jack Harrowby
After the Ball
Duke of York
Soldier in Love
Rizzio
The Great Deception
Capt. Alex Pastitsch
A Woman Commands
Reggie Oliver
International Lady
The Black Cat
Don Cesare Carelli
The Fruitful Vine
Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1938
Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
Himself
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Joseph Surface
The School for Scandal
Scrooge
A Christmas Carol
Amadis de Jocelyn
Innocent
Two Before Zero
Emperor
Aladdin
Ebenezer Scrooge
The Stingiest Man in Town
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
Basil (archive footage)
Madhouse
Paul Charters
Affair in Sumatra
Narrator
Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
108
Gender
Male
Birthday
1892-06-13
Place of Birth
Johannesburg, South African Republic
Also Known As
Sir Basil Rathbone